11th Sunday after Pentecost: The Terrible Danger of Impure Speech ~ St. Alphonsus

About this sermon

What damage can a single impure word do to a soul? In this powerful sermon for the 11th Sunday after Pentecost, St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori gives a sobering warning about the vice of speaking immodestly and the terrible consequences that sinful speech can have both upon ourselves and upon those who hear us. Beginning with the healing of the man whose tongue was loosed in Mark 7, St. Alphonsus turns the Gospel miracle into a penetrating examination of how Christians use the gift of speech. He explains that while the man in the Gospel needed his tongue to be loosed, many souls would receive a great grace if their tongues were restrained from words that lead themselves and others toward impurity. St. Alphonsus develops the sermon in two great points: 1. Immodest speech does great injury to others. Our words do not disappear once they are spoken. Impure conversation, obscene jokes, suggestive remarks, and scandalous speech can place thoughts into another person's mind that may become occasions of temptation and sin. 2. Immodest speech does great injury to ourselves. The person who repeatedly speaks about impure things also continually places those things before his own imagination. What begins with words can lead to thoughts, desires, habits, and eventually actions. Drawing upon Sacred Scripture and the teachings of the saints, St. Alphonsus warns Christians to take seriously the enormous responsibility attached to the tongue. His remedy is equally clear: weigh your words before speaking, restrain sinful speech, and use the tongue God has given you to praise and bless Him. Near the conclusion, St. Alphonsus reminds us that the mouth of a Christian is a mouth that receives Jesus Christ in Holy Communion. How carefully, then, should we guard what proceeds from it. Sacred Scripture tells us: “Let your speech be always in grace, seasoned with salt.” — Colossians 4:6 And St. Alphonsus concludes by urging Christians not only to reject obscene language themselves, but also to refuse to willingly entertain conversations that endanger purity. May this sermon inspire us to examine our speech, avoid occasions of sin, protect the innocence of others, and use our words for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. May St. Alphonsus Liguori pray for us. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 — St. Alphonsus: On the Vice of Speaking Immodestly 00:25 — Christ Heals the Man’s Tongue 00:56 — Applying the Gospel to Ourselves 01:13 — The Two Great Dangers of Immodest Speech 01:22 — First Point: The Injury Done to Others 01:29 — The Tongue as an Instrument of Temptation 02:20 — The Spiritual, Worldly & Impure Tongue 02:36 — Walking on the Slippery Road of Life 03:31 — The Terrible Influence of Obscene Speech 04:03 — The Wounds Inflicted by the Tongue 04:11 — St. Bernardine’s Warning 04:33 — “I Was Only Joking” 05:08 — St. Jerome: From Words to Actions 05:23 — The Scandal Caused by a Single Word 05:51 — “Obscene Tongues Are the Ruin of the World” 06:40 — Answering to God for the Sins of Others 07:02 — Second Point: The Injury Done to Yourself 07:36 — Immodest Words and the Danger of Sin 08:26 — Do Not Forge a Chain With Your Tongue 09:00 — When Obscene Speech Becomes a Lifelong Habit 09:57 — The Scandal Given to the Innocent 10:19 — The Danger to Children and Young Souls 11:48 — Guard Your Speech More Than Death 12:18 — Weigh Your Words Before You Speak 12:41 — The Christian Standard of Purity 13:05 — The Danger of Double Meanings 13:21 — Remember Who You Receive in Holy Communion 13:42 — Let Your Speech Always Be in Grace 14:08 — Avoid Those Who Speak Immodestly 14:31 — “Hedge In Thy Ears With Thorns” 14:41 — Never Be Ashamed to Follow Jesus Christ https://sensusfidelium.com/meditations/st-alphonsus/st-alphonsus-sermons-for-every-sunday-of-the-year/ 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 Support Catholic Businesses here - https://sensusfidelium.com/catholic-businesses/ Sensus Fidelium Press - https://sensusfideliumpress.com/ Sensus Fidelium Apps - https://sensusfidelium.tv/ Support Sensus Fidelium - https://sensusfidelium.com/donate-support/ 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 #StAlphonsusLiguori #Catholic #CatholicSaints #CatholicSermon #CatholicFaith #CatholicTeaching #CatholicTradition #TraditionalCatholic #CatholicSpirituality #CatholicMen #CatholicMasculinity #Purity #Holiness #SpiritualWarfare #AvoidSin #MortalSin #JesusChrist #HolyCommunion #CatholicChurch #Saints

Topics

• Holy Spirit
• Self-Control
• Pentecost